Give us your opinion – negative gearing

If the government scraps or cuts right back on negative gearing, what will the impact really be? Some commentators say it’s simple – less investors will buy property so prices will drop and lots of tenants will be able to afford to buy their own home. They say this makes the market fairer and more equitable. Others argue the smaller supply of rental housing will see rents skyrocket – and this will in turn attract more landlords back and put prices back up to where they were! So who’s right?

As property managers we’ll admit we have a vested interest in this argument, and less rental homes isn’t good for agents!

But what do you think? You’re reading the arguments from both sides on an almost daily basis at the moment so we’re not going to flood you with more opinions. We’d like yours.

To clarify – “negative gearing” is the ability for an investor to claim on their tax return the loss they make owning an investment property. When you own other investments including shares, or a business, it’s the same: when the expenses are greater than the income, you can reduce your taxable income by that amount.

The Federal Opposition has announced they’ll be scrapping negative gearing for established housing if they win power. The Coalition has not yet confirmed its position.

Please share your thoughts on the proposed changes to negative gearing at our blog. We look forward to hearing your comments and will publish the poll results at our Facebook page once we complete the survey.